Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

86 reviews

neonfrills's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for review purposes
This is a YA Horror/ Thriller that focuses on three young women, each with some connection to witchcraft, that get pulled together when a serial killer starts targeting witches in their area, and they have to work together to stop him.

This book is an ode to women who take matters into their own hands against an unjust world. It captures so much of the fear, angst and rage that women go through at the hands of abuse by men, and feeds it into a “Good for Her” fantasy I think a lot of young women can relate to.

Krystal Sutherland is so good at giving a wide range of horror vibes in her books. She can do slower, more gross-out horrifying moments, as well as gut-punching jumpscares that leave you shocked and breathless. Yes, this book is YA, so maybe it doesn’t go as far as an adult horror would with the same subject matter, but it still gives me that uneasy feeling that no other YA horror author has for me.

Some other things I loved:
  • Jude calling her four older brothers “the Horseman” is such a good nickname that feels like something a real teenager would come up with, and also tells you so much about their personalities without spending too much time with them.
  • The demon characters and their bond with Emer, as well as some of the final reveals of their end goals really nail down the “Good for her” vibes as Emer got her revenge.

My only critique was personally, I didn’t love our main three protagonists as much as I did the Hollow sisters in House of Hollow. Jude a lot of the time is downright annoying, with her snarky commentary feeling a little forced. Zara is a bit better, but was lacking in the common sense department, especially with her eventual alternative plan to bring her sister back from the dead. Emer is the best of the three, who I instantly loved from her opening chapter; she’s smart, resourceful, a fighter, and her eventual self-destructive goals make sense from everything she’s been through. I didn’t really understand her and Jude’s attraction, and thought Zara and Jude had a better “straight man, funny man” combo going on, but I didn’t really need this book to have a pronounced romance at all for me to like it.

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ramreadsagain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance digital copy. The below is my honest review.

Krystal Sutherland is really proving herself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to Young Adult literature for me. House of Hollow was excellent and this probably even exceeds that. This book really had that "one more chapter" feel, especially after the 80% mark; I've not stayed up late just to finish a book for so long but this truly had me hooked. 

I loved all of the fantasy aspects, the interesting take on witchcraft was a highlight for me, particularly the world building around demons.

The main characters all felt very realistic, which I think is an achievement when you consider their extreme (and extremely different) upbringings. Their flaws felt real, done really well, and created an excellent dynamic between them as well. There was just enough of the romance subplot too, it never took over and I thought it was cute.

Some twists were a bit obvious, while others made me gasp as I only realised connections a couple of lines before our characters did. This to me is the perfect balance, I'm not against obvious twists but also enjoy being completely surprised. I've seen people comparing the 'obviousness' of the twist(s) here to the one in House of Hollow but I saw the HoH one coming a mile off too lol

It's not quite a 5 star read for me, partly because of the amount of convenience they experienced, for example
Saul the PI available on the phone to provide whatever information they needed at the crucial plot point
. 

This was such an enjoyable read all the way through and I think that young women and girls will really enjoy this for its (albeit slightly heavyhanded) introduction to some fundamentals of feminism and the history of witch burning. I think the book created a really good balance between "witches are real in this world and they were persecuted" and "witch hunting was a tool used to oppress and control women". I think Zara's motivations too are a really great message and I love how her
grief and the results of bringing her sister back
were handled. 

Overall I really loved this and I'd absolutely recommend this to urban/contemporary fantasy fans as well as young adult readers. 
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marywahlmeierbracciano's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Invocations is set in a world where only women can use magic, but it comes at a price.  Butch heiress Jude learns this the hard way when a misguided curse leaves her with a necrotic wound.  Zara’s racing against time to learn how to raise her sister from the dead before it’s too late.  And Emer, a gifted polylinguist and curse-writer and the sole survivor from her coven, knows that being a witch is a dangerous thing.  The three young women are brought together when it’s discovered that a serial murderer is targeting Emer’s past clients—women who were willing to sell part of their soul for magic.  Grief leads the way in this whirlwind story, gruesome and truly scary as it confronts generational wealth, misogynistic violence, demons, and empowerment. 
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metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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izzy_reads's review

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5.0

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emminkirjakasa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I had hard time writing a review of this book, since I don’t want to spoil anything. Just tell everyone to get this book when it’s out and binge it like I did. 
 
The book has three amazing characters, Zara, Jude and Emer, who cross paths and team up to find a killer. While trying to find the killer, the girls find out family secrets, more about magic and curses, and even find time to flirt and go on a date. Having complex and funny female characters in a YA book that make the story come alive in an amazing way is something that will always make me recommend the book. 
 
After reading this book, I started to wonder if I would you sell a piece of my soul for magic. So all I can say is, this Krystal Sutherlands book is something to look out for in January. 
 
* Review is of an early proof copy of the book that I got from work. 
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